I’m Claire Bullimore. Aged 25 I was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour.

Whilst struggling to overcome the physical and mental battles of having that brain tumour, I kept a diary, and in 2011 I wrote the book ‘A Brain Tumour’s Travel Tale’ based on my diary.

Why am I crowdfunding?I am crowdfunding to help fund a book tour to enable me to share my story and to show what people can achieve even with disabilities or life changing situations. I will be visiting 28 cities in the UK, working with several Brain Tumour charities to reach sufferers, survivors, their families, and friends.

I am so lucky to have such an amazing network of friends and supporters. In 2011 I set up the ‘Aunty M Brain Tumours’ Facebook page as a global support network to help people connect with other brain tumour sufferers, survivors, and their families, and friends.

It is important to recognise how crucial support and friendship is to people affected by brain tumours. The Aunty M Facebook page is very active and currently has over 13000 likes.

What will I be doing on the tour?During the tour I will read from my book, answer questions, and provide an opportunity for others to share their stories with me too, making connections. The tour will take place across a 6 month period from June to November (details on specific locations can be found on my Tumblr page) as I have to plan it around managing my own ongoing health problems including chronic fatigue, hyperacusis, and poor eyesight, but I so desperately want people to know that it is possible to be more than just a survivor of a brain tumour, that they can have a life again.

How will your money be spent?Your money will be spent on accommodation, transport, copies of my book, food and drink for the meetings, and some marketing and PR to make sure I reach as many people as possible. Thanks to wonderful support I am able to keep costs down by staying wherever possible with friends and family, and have tremendous support from Brain Tumour charities to use venues.

My way of saying thank youTo say thank you for supporting me, I have put some rewards together. Most of the rewards have a theme of having a cuppa when it gets hard and having a cuppa when we want to celebrate the good things. There are also some lovely ‘tea’ rewards. I hope you will find something you like, whatever you can afford to pledge.

Please help me raise money so that I can go on the book tour to share my story, and to make a difference to the lives of those affected by brain tumours. Thank you.

Claire hosts a regular ‘Brain Tumour Thursday’ radio show at croydonradio.com. The show is dedicated to raising awareness and encouraging positivity. Hundreds of people listen to the show either live with access to a Shoutbox for them to chat in real time, or listening later on a podcast.